contemporary classical music artists

61 published contemporary classical music artists, led by Billy Joel, John Williams and Arvo Pärt.

At a glance

61 published contemporary classical music artists; 1,070 studio albums have verified cover art.

Published artists1 tier 1 · 8 tier 2 · 52 tier 3: 61
Release groups: 2,198
Studio albums: 1,258
Albums with cover artverified Cover Art Archive: 1,070
Timeline events: 1,555
Monthly listenerssum across artists: 40.4M
Claimed salessum of stored claims; implausible values excluded: 160M
Average career spanfirst to last dated release: 38.9 years
Full biographies: 43
Biography words: 117,952

When they started

Debut decade from each artist's earliest dated release. Most debuts fell in the 1980s (14 artists).

Artists by debut decade
Decade	Artists
1950s	2
1960s	11
1970s	7
1980s	14
1990s	9
2000s	6
2010s	1

11 artists have no dated release or formation year and are not plotted.

Where they come from

Countries with the most contemporary classical music artists. United States leads with 17.

Often paired with

Genres that share artists with contemporary classical music. The most shared is opera, with 17 artists in both.

Covers from contemporary classical music

1,070 studio albums have verified cover art. The 12 shown come from the most famous artists.

And So It Goes: Songs of Folk & Lore
Billy Joel · 2018
Fantasies & Delusions
Billy Joel · 2001
An Evening of Questions & Answers... & Perhaps a Few Songs. Recorded at Princeton University - Spring 1994
Billy Joel · 1994
River of Dreams
Billy Joel · 1993
Storm Front
Billy Joel · 1989
The Bridge
Billy Joel · 1986
An Innocent Man
Billy Joel · 1983
The Nylon Curtain
Billy Joel · 1982
Glass Houses
Billy Joel · 1980
52nd Street
Billy Joel · 1978
The Stranger
Billy Joel · 1977
Turnstiles
Billy Joel · 1976

Leaders

John Williams has the most release groups (283); John Williams the longest career (69 years); Billy Joel the most awards (24).

Most prolific

Most prolific, by number of release groups
Artist	release groups
John Williams	283
Jerry Goldsmith	256
Arvo Pärt	194
Billy Joel	175
Morton Feldman	143

Longest careers

first to last dated release

Longest careers, by number of years
Artist	years
John Williams	69
Jerry Goldsmith	65
Lou Harrison	65
Lukas Foss	64
Iannis Xenakis	61

Most decorated

Most decorated, by number of awards
Artist	awards
Billy Joel	24
John Williams	21
Kaija Saariaho	21
Arvo Pärt	20
Wojciech Kilar	17

Most famous contemporary classical music artists

Billy Joel

United States · Person · born 1949

rock and roll, pop rock, soft rock, contemporary classical music

34.4M listeners · 68 wikis

John Williams

United States · Person · born 1932

contemporary classical music

6M listeners · 78 wikis

Arvo Pärt

Soviet Union · Person · born 1935

contemporary classical music, symphony, religious music, minimalist music

69 wikis

Jerry Goldsmith

United States · Person · born 1929

contemporary classical music, classical music

58 wikis

Iannis Xenakis

Greece · Person · born 1922

electronic music, contemporary classical music

50 wikis

Valentyn Sylvestrov

Soviet Union · Person · born 1937

contemporary classical music, symphony, piano music

40 wikis

Wojciech Kilar

Poland · Person · born 1932

contemporary classical music, classical music, religious music, liturgical music

39 wikis

Kaija Saariaho

Finland · Person · born 1952

electronic music, contemporary classical music, opera, spectral music

36 wikis

Kate Miller-Heidke

Australia · Person · born 1981

contemporary classical music

36 wikis

Morton Feldman

United States · Person · born 1926

contemporary classical music, experimental music, avant-garde music

35 wikis

Einojuhani Rautavaara

Finland · Person · born 1928

contemporary classical music, opera, symphony

34 wikis

Terry Riley

United States · Person · born 1935

contemporary classical music

31 wikis

More contemporary classical music artists

Showing 1–49 of 49 artists

Esa-Pekka Salonen

Finland · Person · born 1958

contemporary classical music, classical music, opera

31 wikis · Tier 3

George Crumb

United States · Person · born 1929

contemporary classical music, classical music

29 wikis · Tier 3

Nikolai Kapustin

Ukraine · Person · born 1937

contemporary classical music

25 wikis · Tier 3

Arkady Luxemburg

United States · Person · born 1939

pop music, contemporary classical music

24 wikis · Tier 3

Lukas Foss

United States · Person · born 1922

contemporary classical music, opera

23 wikis · Tier 3

Magnus Lindberg

Finland · Person · born 1958

contemporary classical music, classical music, opera, electroacoustic music

23 wikis · Tier 3

Leo Brouwer

Cuba · Person · born 1939

contemporary classical music

22 wikis · Tier 3

David Diamond

United States · Person · born 1915

contemporary classical music, opera, symphonic music, film score, symphony, ballet, art song

20 wikis · Tier 3

Conlon Nancarrow

United States · Person · born 1912

contemporary classical music

20 wikis · Tier 3

Michel van der Aa

Kingdom of the Netherlands · Person · born 1970

contemporary classical music

19 wikis · Tier 3

Pascal Dusapin

France · Person · born 1955

contemporary classical music, opera

19 wikis · Tier 3

Michael Gielen

Austria · Person · born 1927

contemporary classical music, classical music

19 wikis · Tier 3

Lou Harrison

United States · Person · born 1917

contemporary classical music

19 wikis · Tier 3

Kalevi Aho

Finland · Person · born 1949

contemporary classical music, classical music, opera, symphony

18 wikis · Tier 3

Aulis Sallinen

Finland · Person · born 1935

contemporary classical music, classical music, opera, symphony, chamber music

18 wikis · Tier 3

Hans Abrahamsen

Kingdom of Denmark · Person · born 1952

contemporary classical music, opera

17 wikis · Tier 3

Gaspar Cassadó

Spain · Person · born 1897

contemporary classical music, classical music, sardana

16 wikis · Tier 3

Poul Ruders

Kingdom of Denmark · Person · born 1949

contemporary classical music, opera

16 wikis · Tier 3

David Tudor

United States · Person · born 1926

electronic music, contemporary classical music, classical music, experimental music, avant-garde music

16 wikis · Tier 3

Lauri Porra

Finland · Person · born 1977

jazz, progressive rock, contemporary classical music, classical music, film score, power metal

16 wikis · Tier 3

Luc Ferrari

France · Person · born 1929

contemporary classical music, musique concrète, electroacoustic music

15 wikis · Tier 3

R. Murray Schafer

Canada · Person · born 1933

contemporary classical music, opera, musical play, avant-garde

15 wikis · Tier 3

Gilbert Amy

France · Person · born 1936

contemporary classical music

14 wikis · Tier 3

Nico Muhly

United States · Person · born 1981

contemporary classical music, opera, minimalist music

14 wikis · Tier 3

René Aubry

France · Person · born 1956

contemporary classical music

13 wikis · Tier 3

Erik Bergman

Finland · Person · born 1911

contemporary classical music, classical music, opera

13 wikis · Tier 3

Stomu Yamash'ta

Japan · Person · born 1947

contemporary classical music

13 wikis · Tier 3

Theo Loevendie

Kingdom of the Netherlands · Person · born 1930

jazz, contemporary classical music

12 wikis · Tier 3

Juan María Solare

Argentina · Person · born 1966

contemporary classical music, tango, electroacoustic music

12 wikis · Tier 3

Paavo Heininen

Finland · Person · born 1938

electronic music, contemporary classical music, classical music, opera

11 wikis · Tier 3

Donald Martino

United States · Person · born 1931

contemporary classical music, art music, atonality, twelve-tone technique

11 wikis · Tier 3

Roger Reynolds

United States · Person · born 1934

contemporary classical music

11 wikis · Tier 3

Alexander Knaifel

Soviet Union · Person · born 1943

contemporary classical music, avant-garde music, film score, religious music

10 wikis · Tier 3

Erkki Salmenhaara

Finland · Person · born 1941

contemporary classical music, classical music, opera, symphony

10 wikis · Tier 3

Jukka Tiensuu

Finland · Person · born 1948

contemporary classical music

10 wikis · Tier 3

Kazuhiko Katō

Japan · Person · born 1947

psychedelic rock, folk music, contemporary classical music

10 wikis · Tier 3

Aaron Jay Kernis

United States · Person · born 1960

contemporary classical music

9 wikis · Tier 3

Eleanor Alberga

Jamaica · Person · born 1949

contemporary classical music, opera

8 wikis · Tier 3

Miklós Kocsár

Hungary · Person · born 1933

contemporary classical music

8 wikis · Tier 3

Oleksandr Shchetynsky

Ukraine · Person · born 1960

contemporary classical music

8 wikis · Tier 3

Lukas Ligeti

Austria · Person · born 1965

jazz, contemporary classical music

8 wikis · Tier 3

Thierry Deleruyelle

France · Person · born 1983

contemporary classical music

7 wikis · Tier 3

Alan Holley

Australia · Person · born 1954

contemporary classical music

6 wikis · Tier 3

Costin Miereanu

France · Person · born 1943

contemporary classical music, musique concrète

6 wikis · Tier 3

Rami Khalifé

Lebanon · Person · born 1981

contemporary classical music, electronica, popular music

5 wikis · Tier 3

Robert Paterson

United States · Person · born 1970

contemporary classical music

5 wikis · Tier 3

Oscar Bianchi

Italy · Person · born 1975

contemporary classical music

4 wikis · Tier 3

Willem Jeths

Kingdom of the Netherlands · Person · born 1959

contemporary classical music

4 wikis · Tier 3

Alfred Momotenko

Kingdom of the Netherlands · Person · born 1970

contemporary classical music

2 wikis · Tier 3

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